Switzerland in 2026: Stunning Nature vs. Steep Prices

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

In Brief
The World’s Best Environment
A Rock-Solid Economy
The Price of Living
Beautiful, but Hard to Belong
The Typical Expat in Switzerland
Further Reading

In Brief

Switzerland ranks 22nd out of 31 destinations in the Expat Insider 2026 survey. Its standout is the Quality of Life Index (8th), followed by mid-table results for Working Abroad (14th) and Expat Essentials (18th). The Personal Finance (25th) and Ease of Settling In (26th) Indices are the weak spots.

All in all, over seven in ten expats (72%) are happy with life there, slightly above the 70% global average.

The World’s Best Environment

Switzerland tops the Environment & Climate Subcategory (1st), the cornerstone of its 8th-place Quality of Life result. It ranks 1st for the natural environment, which nearly all expats (97%) rate positively (vs. 84% globally), 2nd for air quality, and 3rd for the urban environment.

Opinion

What I like? Everything works; easy access to nature; it’s beautiful, organized, calm, and with many international companies here; low taxes and good infrastructure; good overall quality of life. (US American expat in Lausanne)

Opinion

Safety & Security (3rd) is another pillar: over nine in ten expats appreciate the country for its political stability (92% vs. 58% globally) and their personal safety (93% vs. 81%).

Switzerland receives further good results for Travel & Transit (8th), where it manages a top 5 results for all underlying factors except the affordability of public transport (24th). A similar picture can be observed in the Healthcare Subcategory (20th). The country ranks well for the availability (11th) and quality (10th) of medical care, but a lack of affordability (29th) drags the wider result down.

The even bigger weak note in the index are Leisure Options (26th), where dining and nightlife both rank near the bottom. Only 57% of expats are satisfied with the available culinary variety, nearly twenty percentage points below the global average of 75%. And an even lower share is happy with the culture and nightlife (48% vs. 67% globally). Recreational sports are the exception, ranking 5th and reflecting the country’s outdoor appeal.

A Rock-Solid Economy

Switzerland ranks 14th in the Working Abroad Index, anchored by a 3rd-place result for the state of the economy. Close to nine in ten expats (89%) give this factor a positive rating, a full 30 percentage points above the global average of 59%!

Expats mostly feel paid fairly for their work (15th) and incomes are high: one in ten (10%) reports a gross annual income above 250,000 USD, and another 43% earn between 100,000 and 250,000 USD per year (vs. a global 4% and 19%, respectively).

The softer notes in the index are the local job market (19th) and working hours (24th), though the full-time average is not too far from the global norm (42.6 hours a week vs. 42.2 globally).

The Price of Living

Cost is the defining drawback, with Switzerland placing 25th in the Personal Finance Index.

The cost of living ranks 28th, where only about one in five expats (21%) rate it positively and about three in five (62%) view expenses negatively. The high cost of living was also by far the top pre-move worry, named by about half of respondents (49% vs. 21% globally).

Overall financial satisfaction ranks 16th, roughly at the global average, so high salaries soften the blow. Switzerland also places 12th for disposable household incomes, where about three in four (74%) feel theirs is enough to lead a comfortable life.

Beautiful, but Hard to Belong

Switzerland receives its worst result for the Ease of Settling In (26th), with below-average results across all factors of the index. For instance, expats rate the friendliness of locals 26th, and making local friends ranks 28th — only about one in five expats (21%) find it easy (vs. 39% globally).

Opinion

It’s very difficult to make local friends, despite efforts like joining local associations and having a child in local school. It never gets beyond the acquaintance level. (German expat in Geneva)

Opinion

More than half the respondents (51%) say their friends are mostly other expats, reflecting a community that takes time to break into the local social fabric. Getting used to the local culture and feeling welcome both rank 25th, where about half of expats (49%) feel at ease (vs. 64% globally).

Practical life is smoother, with the country 18th in the Expat Essentials Index. This includes two very good 6th places for Digital Life and Admin Topics. But Housing (27th) and the Language (19th) are less of a delight. Close to two-thirds (64%) disagree that accommodation is affordable (vs. 49% globally), and nearly half (48%) consider learning the local language(s) difficult.